Yale University Department of Music

Balancing Composition and Improvisation in James P. Johnson's "Carolina Shout"Author(s): Henry MartinSource: Journal of Music Theory, Vol. 49, No. 2 (Fall, 2005), pp. 277-299Published by: Duke University Press on behalf of the Yale University Department of MusicStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27639401 .Accessed: 09/04/2011 20:50

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BALANCING COMPOSITION

AND IMPROVISATION IN

JAMES P. JOHNSON'S

"CAROLINA SHOUT"

Henry Martin

It is often thought that improvisation defines jazz. But improvisation on chorus forms is less common in the jazz of the early 1920s, which often makes use of the sixteen-bar strain characteristic of the march. The

work of James P. Johnson,1 who is often called the father of stride piano, provides an important case study. Many of Johnson's finest stride works are not written for chorus-by-chorus improvisation, yet these works are

not intended for literal performance, either. To what extent, then, does

improvisation influence stride piano performance? Scott Brown, Johnson's biographer, is in agreement with most writers

on jazz in calling Johnson "an improvisationally oriented musician" ( 1986, 41). I argue in this article that the term "improvisation" inadequately describes Johnson's approach to performance. Johnson's approach is, in

fact, not uncommon for the 1920s; an analysis of his performance elabo

rations thus yields important insights into early jazz. Stride piano developed from a blend of three musical genres: ragtime,

Journal of Music Theory, 49:2

DOI 10.1215/00222909-009 ? 2008 by Yale University

277

Table 1. Stride Piano Style

What stride takes from ragtime

"March" bass with low octaves alternating with midrange chords

16-bar sections called "strains," usually three or four to a rag, built duply from two-bar units

Occasional interludes (usually 4 bars), often introducing new strains

Modulation (often to the subdominant) at the "trio"

What stride adds to ragtime

Faster tempo and harmonic rhythm

"Tricks" (flashy techniques)

Non-doubled notes and occasional tenths in the bass

Bluesier "crush" tones

"Shouts" (shorter ideas probably derived from the ring-shout)

More linear melodies with less syncopated ragtime "pivoting"

Introduction of "backbeats" or "change-steps" in the bass

the blues, and the ring shout. From the blues, stride took blue notes (or bent tones) and used note clusters to approximate them. From solo piano

ragtime,2 stride took formal structures and basic harmonic and textural elements. From the ring shout, a dance of African origin (see Stuckey 1987), stride took its exciting affect, call-and-response formulas, short

melodic patterns, and "groove." These and other relationships between

ragtime and stride are summarized in Table l.3 The fusion of these three genres created a form characterized by

Brown as consisting of "short, repeated refrains." Brown also notes that

these short refrains are subject to "variations" often based on "patterns"

(1986, 21). His use of the words "variations" and "patterns" is signifi cant, as we shall see.

The Thematie Block

I begin by proposing a simple method of evaluating a formal section, or strain, of a stride work. Strains are sixteen bars long, usually having an extremely regular phrase structure characterized by duple division into eight-, four-, and two-bar units. This symmetrical layout suggests a

compositional strategy I call the "thematic block":

The thematic block for the strain of a stride work is the thematic unit

usually defined at the beginning of the strain. A thematic block con tinues until the music begins to repeat. The thematic block can be

strong or weak. A strong thematic block is delimited by a repetition of

278

both rhythm and notes, while a weak thematic block is defined by repetition of rhythm only.

The length of a thematic block provides a rough measure of musical

complexity. A strain with a two-bar block is generally less complex than one with a four-bar block. A work that never repeats its initial thematic block is more irregular, hence more complex, than one that repeats in

two- or four-bar units.

In order to see how the thematic block operates in a stride composi

tion, let us turn to Johnson's "Carolina Shout."

Formal Structure

Example 1 reproduces the published score of "Carolina Shout," John son's best-known stride composition and a prototype of the genre. (Errors in the original publication appear as accidentals in parentheses; also, the

flat attached to the B5 in m. E-9 was erroneously attached to the G5 in the original.) I examine first its basic form, with particular attention to Johnson's use of thematic blocks.

The piece begins with a four-bar introduction, setting the composi tion's mood, tempo, and key and foreshadowing the A, strain's thematic

idea. The grace notes at the beginning are normally struck at the same

time as the G-major chords to create a bluesy cluster.

The A! strain begins with a strong four-bar thematic block.4 This ante

cedent block is answered by a consequent beginning in m. 5, which closes on a half cadence. In addition to the establishment of a thematic block, cadential points are normally articulated at the end of the eight- and six teen-bar groupings. At these points, the thematic block is usually inter

rupted for a cadence formula. The remainder of the Aj strain elaborates

the basic form of the strain's first half; in particular, mm. 9-12 of A] introduce a variant of the original four-bar thematic block, while the last four bars introduce an authentic cadence that completes the strain and

balances the half cadence at m. 8 of A,.

The A2 strain is a variant of A]. The melody that begins the strain is in a "seesaw" style characteristic of a number of stride works. Again, we see

the material begin to repeat in the fifth measure of A2, indicating another

strong four-bar block.

The B strain is rare among the works of Johnson in that it is based on a strong one-bar thematic block. The immediate repetition allows John

son to work with complexities of rhythm and harmony. The disruption of the marchlike rhythm in the left hand, first heard in the strain's third bar and then in the sixth, is called a "backbeat"5 or "change-step." The dis

ruption at the third bar of B brings about a clashing simultaneity of C and G harmonies.6 In mm. 5-8 of the strain, where the thematic block returns,

the disruption is compounded by the earlier entrance of the backbeat.

279

[AT] 4-bar block

Example 1. James P. Johnson, "Carolina Shout." ? 1926 James P.

Johnson, reprinted by kind permission of Barry Glover, Sr. and the James P. Johnson Foundation (www.jamespjohnson.org).

280

[?2] 4-bar block

| %fr

i==fa=f? P?

?3 J 3 3~ 3 3 ? ** ? P

Example 1 (continued)

281

Example 1 (continued)

282

I Trio| 2-bar block; groove \D\ Light

Example 1 (continued)

283

|F] variant of [O]

^?+ir+r?t^T^t

fel I -Jt

feil EU* 3"^' 'i '

^ ' 'J '

j 'J ' ?

?i=^ ̂ ~J 5 IP i~ * p~

Example 1 (continued)

284

Example 1 (continued)

285

The C strain has a call-and-response format, with the two parts distin

guished registrally. Here, Johnson lays out a strong two-bar block con

taining both call and response. The three strains in G major (A, B, and

C), therefore, each have different block lengths (four, one, and two bars,

respectively). This is not material to be improvised on; Johnson's various

performances of the G-major strains of "Carolina Shout" are quite faith ful to the written score.

The D strain begins the trio with an abrupt turn to the subdominant

key of C major. A strong two-bar block defines the D strain. The treat ment of the two-bar block in D is what I call a "groove":

A groove is a thematic block presented at least three times with fairly little change.

Measures 7 and 8 provide a deviation from the groove through a

weak tonicization of G major. Upon repeat, the D strain continues the two-bar groove, interrupting it only at the second ending with the cadence formula.

Like the D strain, the remaining strains of the trio are all grooves. The E strain functions primarily as a bridge between the D and F strains, hav

ing a groove with a two-bar call-and-response thematic block. The F

strain is a variant of D, adhering to D's harmonic plan with a similar

grooving two-bar block. The sheet music for F presents what looks like written-out improvisation?in fact, a basic idea is presented in a thematic block that repeats informally, with minor embellishments. Finally, the

concluding G strain is also a variant of D; here, a strong two-bar block returns with an alternating-hands treatment of the diminished-seventh

harmony. In general, the trio is where the stride pianist is most likely to elabo

rate thematic material. Finding two-bar grooves in the trio of "Carolina

Shout," then, should not come as a surprise. The groove itself is essential

to the genesis of stride, and it is this key feature that separates stride from its more sedate predecessor, ragtime. Johnson describes playing for danc

ing at the Jungles Casino in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen, where he wrote

"Carolina Shout" and the other early works of stride piano around the

period 1912-14. As Johnson recalled,

The dances they did at the Jungles Casino were wild. . . . [T]hey'd yell:

"Let's go back home!" . . . "Let's do a set!" ... or "Now put us in the

alley!" Breakdown music was the best for such sets, the more solid and groovy

the better. They'd dance, hollering and screaming until they were cooked.

(Davin 1959, 12)

Johnson describes the dancers responding to a groove. A backbone of the African-American musical tradition since the ring shout, the groove

286

has been a major feature of black-influenced popular music from the nineteenth century through jazz and gospel, finally to rock, rhythm and blues (R&B), and rap.

To return to "Carolina Shout": a seven-bar coda follows the G strain;

this coda confirms C major and ends the piece on the global subdomi nant. Interestingly, the initial E\?l-A\?l harmonic move is the earliest jazz instance I have seen of the VI and II tritone substitutions in a circle-of

fifths progression.

Backbeating

One of the hallmarks of Johnson's stride style was the backbeat, which he used to great effect. This technique is illustrated in Example 2, which shows graphs of mm. 1-4 and mm. 5-8 of the A{ strain from the pub lished version of "Carolina Shout." In Example 2a, the top line gives the

midrange chords, while the line below it gives the bass notes. The third

line, marked "SP" for "stride pattern," summarizes the top two lines by

denoting 1 for bass note and 2 for chord. Note its marchlike regularity. The lowest line, "HR," gives the resulting harmonic rhythm, in this case a two-beat duration for each harmony, as shown by the 2s below the HR line.

(a) Al, mm. 1-4

chords

bass

stride pattern

harmonic rhythm

1

G

2

Flt

1

D

2

1

Em

2?

Em G7

D

2 1 2

G7

2 [Gj?]

- 2

D7

1

D7

2?

1

G

2

(b)Al,mm. 5-8

chords Dttdim

bass G F?f F#

backbeat s 3 3

stride pattern 112 1

harmonic rhythm G Dj}dim

1?- 3

2?- 2?

Em Gm

E B\>

12 12

Em Gm

2- 2

A Git G#

3 3

112 1

4

D7

12 12

A7 D7

2- 2

Example 2. Backbeats in the A strain of the 1926 published version of "Carolina Shout"

287

(a) QRS piano roll (May 1920). BBF = 2; BBS = 0.

(0:30) 1212/1212/1212/1212/

3 3 12 12/12 12/112 1/12 12/

12 12/1212/1212/121 1/

3 3 1 212/1 1 1 1 /12 1 1/1 1 21// 1 212/

(b) Okeh 4495 (October 18, 1920). BBF = 7; BBS = 5.

3 4 3

(0:30) 1212/1121/1121/1212/

3 3 3 3 112 1/12 12/1121/1211/

3 4 4 3 1121/1121/112 1/1211/

12 12/1111/1111/1111/ (liquidation)

(c) MCA sheet music (1926). BBF = 6; BBS = 3.

3 3 12 12/1121/1212/111 (rest) /

3 3 3 3 112 1/1212/112 1/1212/

3 2 3 3 3 112 1/2112/1121/1212/

1111/1111/1111/1111/ (liquidation)

Example 3. Backbeats in the A2 section of three versions of "Carolina Shout"

Example 2b shows mm. 5-8. Here, there is an additional line marked BB for "backbeats" over the stride pattern line. This line shows occa sional groups of three arising from the pattern, that is, two bass notes followed by a midrange chord. To follow a notation developed by Brown

(1986, 122-33), I add a left-pointing arrow above the 3 on the backbeat line to signify that the march rhythm is to be disrupted by the inclusion

of a three-group. That is, the bass notes and chords that follow are mis

aligned relative to the strong and weak beats of the bar. At the next

appearance of a three-group, the right-pointing arrow signifies that the stride pattern is returned to correct beat alignment. At m. 7 the stride is

again disrupted, as shown by the left-pointing arrow over the three-group, then immediately corrected by another three-group with right-pointing arrow.

As described above for the B strain, backbeats can have interesting effects on harmonic rhythm. The HR line in Example 2b demonstrates the harmonic ambiguity of mm. 5 and 7. Note that mm. 1-4 are regular, their symmetry easily perceived. Upon repetition, in mm. 5-8, disrup tions are introduced. Johnson is particularly adept at setting up a pattern and then disrupting its symmetry in order to achieve a striking effect. From Example 2b, we can infer two new analytical parameters:

The backbeat frequency (BBF) of a sixteen-bar strain is the number of bars with backbeats.

The backbeat strength (BBS) of a strain indicates the total number of bars in which backbeat bars occur consecutively; when backbeating is not immediately corrected, the rhythmic disruption is much

stronger.

For a given sixteen-bar strain, both BBF and BBS will vary in the range 0-16. In the case of Ab both backbeats are immediately corrected, so the BBS is 0.

Example 3 compares backbeating in three versions of the A2 strain.7 The QRS piano-roll version features relatively little backbeating: each of the two disruptions (BBF = 2) is immediately corrected (BBS = 0). John son's OKeh Records performance of 1921,8 his first sound recording of the work, is, in contrast, especially intense: seven total bars of backbeat

ing (BBF = 7), five of them occurring in consecutive groups (BBS = 5). The sheet music version falls between these two versions with regard to both backbeat frequency (BBF = 6) and strength (BBS = 3).

Improvisation in the Trio

I now turn to the issue of improvisation in the trio of "Carolina Shout." With respect to the published sheet music of 1926, there is a question whether we should consider the F and G strains to be improvisations on

289

D. I will argue that neither F nor G is improvisation in the usual sense of

the word. Instead, Johnson creates a grooving pattern?a thematic block

specific for each strain.9 Could the variation-like versions of the D strain

be a function of the sheet music only?a simplification for publication? Riccardo Scivales, who has transcribed numerous stride piano perfor

mances, claims that "[i]n live performances or extended recordings the

Stride pianists would play several improvised variations on the C strain

[i.e., the trio]. For example, in his great December 1943 Blue Note record

ing of Caprice Rag, Johnson played a total of nine variations on the C

strain" (Scivales n.d., 94).

In order to better understand the tendency of stride pianists to impro vise on the trio, let us compare other performances by Johnson of "Caro

lina Shout," with particular focus on the D strain.

The D Strain in Johnson's Performances Example 4 shows a number of versions of the D strain's thematic

block, depicting its evolution over the period 1918-44. The first block, in

Example 4a, is from the 1918 Artempo piano roll. It is less syncopated than later versions and lacks the accented diminished-seventh chord. It is

evident that Johnson was not fully satisfied with the piece and continued to develop it.

Example 4b shows the QRS piano roll of 1921. Here the idea from

the 1918 roll is transformed into a figure with greater emphasis on a

diminished-seventh harmony; many of the elements of the published version are now in place. Still more syncopated is the version appearing on Johnson's first sound recording, made in 1921 (Example 4c). Johnson also recorded a band version of "Carolina Shout" in 1921l0; its D strain

(Example 4d) retains the diminished-seventh cluster, rendered by a banjo tremolo. For the 1926 sheet-music version of the D-strain block (Exam

ple 4e), Johnson voiced the diminished-seventh chord with a high A5, the

only time such a voicing appears.

Johnson's next recording appeared some seventeen years later, on the

occasion of a famous concert produced by John Hammond at Carnegie Hall called "From Spirituals to Swing"?in effect, a history in miniature of African-American music. In Example 4f we see that Johnson's Carn

egie Hall version of D is very close to the published sheet music.11 The

1944 Decca recording (Example 4g) duplicates the 1938 Carnegie Hall

performance quite exactly, although the recording was made some five

years later.12

We have seen that the D strains are very much alike. What about the

variant of D called F? On the 1944 recording, Johnson plays an F strain.

The 1926 sheet music and 1944 Decca recording are juxtaposed in

Example 5. Here again, we see that the elaborations between 1926 and

290

a. Artempo Roll (1918) G7/D G7

f^^ClLi

C#dim7

"^> -?m

m

b. Q. R. S. Roll (1921)

c.OKeh 4495 (1921)

d. Arto 9906 (c. 1921)

(trumpet)

m

C??dim7

(banjo)

?iJ'J JU^-Jlp y

e. Sheet Music (MCA, 1926)

f. Carnegie Hall (December 23, 1938)

,? ^JTJXk^ ^?^-fl~^

^T? P . Decca DL 5190 (1944) (trans. Servales*)

U,:j ^^1^=^ *9-7i p * Transcription of 7g. by Riccardo Scivales, Harlem Stride Piano Solos (Bedford Hills, New York:

Ekay Music, no date), 37.

Example 4. "Carolina Shout," D section blocks

1944 are extraordinarily close. Thus, by 1926 the D-strain variant called F was set; Johnson was still playing it eighteen years later!13

Hence, we can see Johnson's compositional focus: not only is he faith

ful to the different strains of "Carolina Shout," but he is also faithful to their variations.

The D Strain in Other Performances Since the principal trio strain is where stride soloists are most likely

to elaborate the music material, let us consider a sample D strain from

291

a. Sheet Music (1926) G7/D G7 C C?dim7 G7/D G7 C C?dim7

b. 1944 Decca

(Decca: trans. Scivales)

Example 5. "Carolina Shout," F sections (D variants)

G7 C Cttdim7

Example 6. "Carolina Shout," Fats Waller's D section (1941)

another well-known version of "Carolina Shout." Example 6 shows the

D strain's two-bar block from Fats Waller's recording of May 13, 1941

(take 2).14 The strong thematic block is an elaboration of the original but

retains its essence. Example 7 shows how Waller elaborates Johnson's

D-strain idea. The graph in Example 7a shows Johnson's separation of

the voices in the 1938 and 1944 versions. The A4 is a neighbor of the

lower G4; the diminished cluster above the A4 is probably best heard as

an incomplete neighbor. In Example 7b, the Waller variant is shown. Waller avoids C5 in the

line itself, instead focusing its melodic essence around the upper and lower

Gs. The diminished cluster is transformed into a nested set of neighbors: the Bb neighbors A, which itself neighbors G. Waller thus elaborates

Johnson's D-strain idea but deletes its incomplete neighbor, the dimin

ished cluster. This shows an important facet of his pianism: though a

brilliant player with a tremendous sense of swing, Waller was a smoother

stylist than Johnson, often more predictable, with fewer rhythmic sur

prises and rarely any backbeating. Example 8a shows a D-strain variant I composed and that I now

include when I perform "Carolina Shout." In devising this variant, I have

taken the idea of the Bb and A as neighbors to G and then extended the A

so as to be prominent throughout the two-bar block. A case could be made that I have transformed the thematic block to

292

G7 a. a

^=^

Q$dim7 N?

G7

r--~r

Johnson(1938,1944)

m f r G7

^

C#dim7 N

G7

Waller (1941)

Example 7. "Carolina Shout," comparison of Johnson's and Waller's

D sections

G7/D G7 Cttdim7

Ijtttj j-R-n iJ>J ^j

G7 C C|dim7 N?

fel

N N N (N?)

- b- J

*E

Example 8. "Carolina Shout," D section block

293

prolong A rather than G, as in the original. In the top line of Example 8b, I show the A as prolonged by G and Bt as upper and lower neighbors. The

graph in the middle staff of Example 8b shows an interpretation with G as the prolonged note and the nested neighbor intact. With either inter

pretation, the G is rhythmically very weak.

Beyond "Carolina Shout"

Johnson's thematic-block approach to improvisation is evident in his other recordings. For example, Johnson's song "You've Got to be Mod

ernistic" was originally written for a Broadway-style show in the late 1920s.15 It was recorded16 on November 18,1929, by a jazz ensemble and a trio of singers who may have been featured in the original production.17 This version for band and singers features improvised solos over a two bar groove on the C strain intended to build excitement to the end of the

recording. Johnson's piece is in fact more effective as a stride piano solo. In con

trast to the band version, Johnson's solo recording18 two months later (Jan

uary 21, 1930) is in stride style, with six variations on the C theme that

replace the improvised solos heard earlier. The greater impact of the stride

recording (compared to the band version) comes from Johnson's introduc tion of thematic blocks that precisely define each variation and build

virtuosity. Johnson's many other solo stride recordings show a similar approach.

Johnson never abstracts a chord progression from a block for "blowing" (improvising with extensive departure from the melody); instead, the strain remains compositionally focused on its original melodic material or on a

pattern?specific to each variation?that relates to it. That is, the original melodic idea, introduced in a block, always remains in force and can

usually be detected as underlying the patterns of the individual variations. As we saw in the case of "Carolina Shout," it is likely that Johnson devel

oped variations in advance and then retained them for future performances if they were successful.

Of course, our only evidence for Johnson's practice is his recorded

legacy. Johnson may have played differently at informal, live perfor mances, but it seems unlikely that he would have radically changed his

approach. For example, the longer Asch recordings from the 1940s allow Johnson more than three minutes per record; yet there, too, he maintains

variational techniques for performance elaborations.19

Dick Wellstood, an important latter-day stride pianist, claims bluntly that "the stride players were, as a group, not great improvisers. The idea

with them was to compose an original piece or perhaps make an arrange ment of current show tunes, and then to wow the folks with it, night after

294

night."20 While this assessment may be exaggerated, Wellstood may be close to the truth.

An interesting issue is why Johnson approached thematic elaboration as he did. The thematic block structure of the stride composition by its

very nature discourages the freer improvisational practices associated with later jazz. A freely expressive right-hand line can sound formless or

inappropriate when juxtaposed against the architectural thematic blocks that are designed to interact with the left hand. This imbalance occurs less

when a popular song provides the thematic material, as in later jazz.

As the jazz piano world entered the 1930s, a younger generation of

pianists with looser ties to the ragtime world of the multistrain compo sition gained ascendency. Earl Hines, Teddy Wilson, and Art Tatum?

preeminent among the newer stylists?tended to avoid sixteen-bar strains,

even when using the striding left hand as a basis for solo playing, and

instead focused on the popular song. Without the right-hand figuration

"pulling and tugging" against the stride left hand, these younger pianists were able to cultivate freer, less block-oriented "variations" on the origi

nal material. Because of their avoidance of thematic-block elaboration,

even calling their choruses "variations" (especially in the case of Hines or Wilson) seems inappropriate. Their left-hand 1-2-1-2 patterns are

better referred to as a "swing bass" in order to distinguish its lighter tex

ture from stride, given the absence of the necessary right-hand figurations.

Tatum, on the other hand, maintained a closer connection to his stride roots

despite a personal repertory based on popular standards; not surprisingly, many of his variations were, like Johnson's, worked out in advance.

The up-tempo, "orchestral" nature of stride is another important factor

in discouraging freer improvisation. The stride performer supplies the

complete musical package of rhythm, bassline, harmony, and melody within a framework of rapidly changing chords?often every two beats. The resulting plethora of musical information encourages the performer to maintain blocks in the right hand to help organize the material and to

prevent being overwhelmed by its intricacy. Once the left hand simplifies, as in later jazz piano, the right hand follows with its greater sense of

evolving form. Not surprisingly, slower stride performances have much

freer right-hand lines.21

Conclusions

We have seen that within his stride work, Johnson was more of a com

poser than an improviser. Johnson's preoccupation with the melody of a

thematic block is a backbone of his musical thinking. He is quoted as

claiming, "Any harmony is only so many chords unless you have a real

melody" (Blesh and Janis 1971, 205). It may not be stretching a point too far to call Johnson's strategies of

295

elaboration "nonimprovisation," as he usually approached each strain by

devising a variational pattern, which he then treated compositionally. He seemed to devise these variations in advance and continued to use them

if they were successful. Hence, rather than call Johnson an "improvisa

tionally oriented musician," I suggest that he be called a "composition ally oriented musician who elaborated his works at the piano in live per formance." This in no way detracts from the importance and exceptionally fine quality of his music, but rather shows that we must not thoughtlessly attribute our latter-day understanding of improvisation to early forms of

jazz.

296

NOTES

1. James P. Johnson was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, on February 1, 1894,

and died in New York on November 17, 1955. In addition to his preeminence in

stride piano, he was a fine popular song composer. He also wrote several extended

concert works. The best historical account of his work is Brown 1986, which also

includes Robert Hubert's discography covering the period 1917-50. Johnson's

studio recordings are enumerated in chronological order on Classics CDs (Classic

Records): James P. Johnson 1921-1928 (Classics 658), James P. Johnson 1928

1938 (Classics 671), James P. Johnson 1938-1942 (Classics 711), James P. John

son 1943-1944 (Classics 824), James P. Johnson 1944 (Classics 835), James P.

Johnson 1944, vol. 2 (Classics 856), James P. Johnson 1944-1945 (Classics 1027), and James P. Johnson 1945-1947 (Classics 1059). His piano rolls can be heard on

James P. Johnson: Carolina Shout (Biograph BCD 105 DDD) and James P. John

son: Parlor Piano Solos from Rare Piano Rolls (Biograph BCD 150 ADD). John

son's live recordings, in which he functions both as leader and as sideman, are

collected on various CDs.

2. The solo piano rag is sometimes broken down into three categories: (1) "classic

ragtime," including the work of Scott Joplin, James Scott, and Joseph Lamb;

(2) "advanced ragtime," including the work of Artie Matthews; and (3) "novelty

ragtime," whose most famous exponents were Roy Bargy and Zez Confrey. There

are, of course, gray areas in this typology, and there are also works that scarcely fit any of these categories. For more on this and other classifications of ragtime, see Berlin 1980, 5-20, 61-80. Jasen and Jones (2000, xxxix-xl) argue for a more

restrictive view, claiming that authentic ragtime consists of works specifically

composed for piano and that the other uses of the word are the result of attempts to profit from ragtime's popularity.

3. Both the composed piano rag and the stride work begin with a four-bar introduc

tion?sometimes extended to eight?followed by a series of sixteen-bar "strains."

There may be a coda to round off the work. The introduction's formal functions

are to establish the tempo and tonality and to suggest or set up the thematic mate

rial of the first strain. Strains are typically labeled A, B, C, etc. In a typical stride

work, the first two or three strains are in the tonic key; the remaining strains are

usually in the subdominant and are grouped together as the "trio." There may be

a four- or eight-bar modulation to the trio. Within the trio, four- or eight-bar inter

ludes may come between the strains. Stride piano performances may include a

recapitulation of one or more of the early strains (usually A or B). There is seem

ingly little regard for the overall key of the piece; it is arbitrary whether the pianist decides to end on the subdominant or return to the tonic of the original A strain.

4. The A, strain of "Carolina Shout" has folk roots and can be found in a number of

similar pieces, including "Wild Cherries Rag," "Perfect Rag," "Buddy's Habits,"

and "Little Rock Getaway" (Jasen and Tichenor 1978, 244). In the score of "Car

olina Shout" shown in Example 1, we have decided that it is clearer to number the

bars in each strain without regard to repeats; hence, strains with repeats will show

fewer bars than the actual sixteen that are to be played. 5. Backbeats in stride piano should be distinguished from backbeats in contempo

rary popular music. The latter term is often used to denote beats two and four in

4/4 time, as in a rock drummer's heavy accenting of the backbeats.

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6. For more on the C/G clash and related points of interest, see Wildman 1979, 35

36.

7. The QRS piano roll is 100999 (New York, May 1921) and was widely dissemi

nated. It can be heard on James P. Johnson: Carolina Shout. There is also an ear

lier piano roll, Artempo 12975 (Newark, NJ, February 1918), which is discussed

below. The Artempo roll can be heard on James P. Johnson: Parlor Piano Solos

from Rare Piano Rolls. The Artempo can be considered a work in progress, as its

features differ significantly from the subsequent versions.

8. OKeh 4495, recorded October 18, 1921. It is available on James P. Johnson

1921-1928.

9. Since the first version of "Carolina Shout" was issued on the Artempo piano roll

in 1918, the D strain might be one of the earliest recordings of a groove. This, of

course, depends on one's definition of a groove. I have defined it quite narrowly for the purposes of its application to stride piano, but the basic idea of a two- or

four-bar vamp could be extended easily. The formal irregularities heard in the

Artempo roll are probably the result of inexpert editing of the roll before its man

ufacture.

10. Available on James P. Johnson 1921-1928.

11. Available on From Spirituals to Swing: The Legendary 1938 & 1939 Carnegie Hall Concerts Produced by John Hammond (Vanguard 169/71-2).

12. Available on James P. Johnson 1944, vol. 2.

13. Brown 1986 gives no indication whether Johnson played a role in arranging the

1926 version for publication. I suspect he may have been involved, given that the

F-strain variant occurs neither in the piano rolls nor in the 1921 recording. It is not

likely that an outside arranger would have bothered to fashion a completely new

section, much less that it would have been subsequently adapted and performed

by Johnson.

14. "Carolina Shout" (Victor 27563). Available on The Fats Waller Piano Solos: Turn

on the Heat (Bluebird 2482-2-RB). 15. Brown (1986, 198) suggests that "Modernistic" was written for A Great Day in

New Orleans, which opened in Philadelphia in November 1929. The show never

traveled to New York.

16. Originally Victor V-38099, available on James P Johnson 1928-1938.

17. The singers are called "The Keep Shufflin' Trio." Johnson wrote a hit show called

Keep Shufflin ' in 1928, but "Modernistic" is not listed among its numbers, accord

ing to Brown (1986, 198). 18. Originally Brunswick 4762, available on James P. Johnson 1928-1938.

19. While Johnson's career tapered off in the 1930s, he was among the musicians

"rediscovered" in the 1940s through the "Dixieland revival." As a result, Moses

Asch, founder of Asch, Disc, and Folkways Records, recorded Johnson in numer

ous sessions and permitted him great freedom to play what he wished. These

recordings are collected on The Original James P. Johnson: 1942-1945 Piano

Solos (Smithsonian Folkways CD SF-40812). 20. See the liner notes of Donald Lambert: Harlem Stride Classics (Miami: Pumpkin

Productions, 1977). 21. Consider, for example, Fats Waller's "Numb Fumblin'," recorded March 1, 1929

(originally Victor V38508, available on The Fats Waller Piano Solos: Turn on the

Heat).

298

WORKS CITED

Berlin, Edward A. 1980. Ragtime: A Musical and Cultural History. Berkeley and Los

Angeles: University of California Press.

Blesh, Rudi, and Harriet Janis. 1971. They All Played Ragtime, 4th ed. New York: Oak

Publications.

Brown, Scott E. 1986. James P. Johnson: A Case of Mistaken Identity. Metuchen, NJ:

Scarecrow Press.

Davin, Tom. 1959. "Conversations with James P. Johnson." Jazz Review 2/6.

Jasen, David A., and Gene Jones. 2000. That American Rag: The Story of Ragtime

from Coast to Coast. New York: Schirmer Books.

Jasen, David A., and Trebor Jay Tichenor. 1978. Rags and Ragtime: A Musical His

tory. New York: Seabury Press.

Scivales, Riccardo. [n.d.]. Harlem Stride Piano Solos. Bedford Hills, NY: Ekay Music.

Stuckey, Sterling. 1987. Slave Culture: Nationalist Theory and the Foundations of Black America. New York: Oxford University Press.

Wildman, Joan M. 1979. "The Function of the Left Hand in the Evolution of the Jazz

Piano." Journal of Jazz Studies 5/2: 23-39.

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